Frankie's Heart
by Cheep FIsh Baby
Summary: A modernized version, with a twist. Frankie Price's life changes suddenly when his aunt decides to pay to send him to a prestigious private school, Mansfield Academy. The only person there who ever understood him was his best friend, Eddie. They grow up and suddenly girls start getting between them, and Frankie needs to learn to deal with feelings he can't even admit to himself.
1. Chapter 1

Frankie Price had not talked to anyone all day. It was his first day of high school, but not only that, his first day ever of private school. He hardly knew how he had gotten here, so far away from the world he had always known.

His mother said it would be for the best this way. It was so unexpected. He'd hardly heard her even mentioning having a sister for the first thirteen years of his life, and now she was offering to pay for his education. They lived in another state, hours and hours away from his mother. And she sent him off to them. She didn't even ask what he thought about it. She said, "It's for the best," and that was that.

Frankie was really trying to pay attention to his English teacher. Mansfield Academy was supposed to be top rate. It was such an honour for him to be here, his mother had said. He didn't know what his _father _thought about it. He hadn't heard from him since two Christmases ago.

Frankie looked down at his sheet of paper. His pen was held ready to take down notes, but the teacher wasn't saying anything useful. He was introducing himself. That wouldn't be on the finals, surely.

He stared around the classroom discreetly. The desks were lined up in pairs, two students next to each other. There was evidently an odd-number of students in this class, because he was the only one sitting by himself. When the students had entered the class, he noticed most of them rushing to find seats near the back, far away from the teacher as possible. He took the spot he thought had the least number of people around it, the very front row centre. Now he sat distinctly aware of how close he was to the teacher and that any move he made would be obvious.

He risked glancing around the classroom again, still afraid that the teacher would notice his eyes darting around his head and call him out on it. Maybe there was no reason to be so nervous. But it still seemed to him like _all _the other students in his class looked a lot older than him. Much older than thirteen surely. He didn't see anyone who looked as young and short as himself. And they all seemed so comfortable in their uniforms. To him the shirt collar was itchy, the tie was too tight, and the jacket sleeves drooped down past his fingertips if he didn't roll them back up. His Aunt had gotten the used uniform from a friend of hers whose son had graduated last year.

He wondered if anyone else here was new too. Or were they all local? Had they all gone to the same private junior highs and elementary schools? Was he the only outside here? Would he stick out wherever he went? Did he belong here?

He wondered too what was going on in the high school he was supposed to go to, the one where the school walls went for months before they got someone to clean off the graffiti. The one that had police officers on campus and where the rumours said a brutal initiation awaited all the geeky ninth graders. _This is an honour, _he reminded himself. _This is a privilege. I'm lucky. I'm going to have a great future because of this. _He never had a lot of friends back home, but he truly loved the couple that he did have.

Finally the bell rang. This had been his third period today. Now it was lunchtime. He wandered into the hallway, head down, fixated on his shoes, pushed along with the stream of students heading to the cafeteria. He hadn't even been inside there yet. When he did go in, it might as well have been the biggest room in the world. Students everywhere, all in the same navy blue coloured uniform. He saw a lot of the boys had their shirts tucked out, their ties off, or their pants down low past their waist. He moved away from the door as more people kept pushing in. He made his way through the room, pressed as close to the wall as possible, trying to not bump into anyone as he looked around the room. Finally he saw Julia and Maria.

His twin cousins were at a table packed with friends. He could see their knees poking out from under the table and felt sure their skirts hadn't been that short when they left school in the morning. Maria was looking in a compact mirror, and another girl he didn't know passed her lipstick. He'd never seen them wearing make-up at home either.

"Hey," said Frankie, coming up behind them. They didn't hear him over the murmur of talking students. "Hey there," he said, a little more loudly. They still didn't here. He stood behind them for a few second, wondering what to do, and then tapped them both on the shoulder.

"Frankie!" said Maria, smiling brightly. "How's it going coz? Enjoying your first day so far?"

"Oh yeah, of course," he answered, trying to match her smile.

"That's good," said Maria.

"Yeah, really," said Julia.

"Who's that?" said a boy sitting at the table.

"It's our cousin, Frankie. Didn't I mention him?" said Julia. "Everyone, this is Frankie."

The other kids at the table nodded at him, a couple mumbled a greeting, one girl waved. Frankie smiled, conscious of everyone looking at him, but they when he didn't reply, they all went back into their own conversation.

"You know what, I totally forgot to save you a seat," said Maria. "You don't mind, right? We can have lunch together tomorrow."

"So sorry!" said Julia. "We won't forget tomorrow, promise."

"No problem," he breathed. His cousins turned back around and rejoined their group. The first night he came to their house, just a week ago, they had made him sit in their room, where they spent an hour interrogating him about his whole life, giggling loudly as they hoped to make him reveal something juicy. They realized he didn't have any interesting to say, and that they had almost nothing in common. After then they had hardly said anything besides good morning and good night.

Frankie knew he couldn't just approach a group of strangers and ask to sit with them. The cafeteria was so crowded, and he was just sure if he kept standing there for long enough, everyone would notice he had nowhere to sit, that he was all alone. He quickly headed for the door.

He wandered down an empty hallway. He didn't even know where he was going. He turned around a corner and when he felt he was a safe distance from the cafeteria and from anybody else in the world, he sat crouched down on the floor next to a locker, knees pressed to his chest, and buried his face in his hands.

He was ashamed of how easily he let himself cry sometimes. He had promised himself he wouldn't cry ever again when he came to live with the Bertrams. He knew he had to be a man now. But he felt the stinging in his eyes, and the worst part was he didn't even know why he was crying.

_Lord, give me strength, _he prayed to himself. Prayer usually helped him feel better. But it didn't now.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Frankie was ready to jump off like a cartoon character, crashing through the ceiling. Someone was there. He took one had away from his face and a tall boy with curly blonde hair in front of him with a concerned looked on his face.

Frankie wiped his eyes and was ready to get up and away from there as fast as possible.

"Don't be embarrassed," said the boy. He said it with a bemused chuckle. It wasn't mocking though, Frankie could tell that. "Why are you out here all alone? Is everything okay?"

"It's fine, really, just – don't worry about me. I'm fine."

"Was someone picking on you? 'Cause let me tell you, I don't like bullies…"

"No, no, not that," said Frankie. He was stopped, but still half turned, still ready to rush away if he needed to.

"Well, something must be wrong." The boy was smiling warmly, so differently from how Julia and Maria and smiled at him, half-oblivious. The boy looked like nothing else mattered right now but trying to help him.

"It's just, it's so crowded in there. The cafeteria, I mean. I, I don't really know anyone yet."

"Sure you do," said the boy. "You know me. I'm Eddie. Nice to meet you."

He held out his hand, and Frankie shook it, introducing himself, and explaining he had just moved to town.

"To be honest, I was really nervous too," said Eddie. "I didn't even go _in _the cafeteria. I decided to check out the chapel during lunch instead."

"Oh cool, I wanted to check that out too."

"Great, I'm glad I'm not the only kid around here who thinks chapel is cool, then," said Eddie. "So where did you move from?"

They stood in the hall for at least ten minutes, getting to know each other, and then Eddie said they really should go eat some food or they'd be starving the rest of the day. Eddie managed to find a table with two empty spots and asked the other kids there if it'd be okay to join.

"See, it's really not that hard," he whispered to Frankie.


	2. Chapter 2

It was the middle of October, with the leaves starting to change and the days growing chillier, when Frankie tried to keep pace walking behind Eddie, who was riding home after school on his bike.

The two had been hanging out almost every day at school now. They found they had a lot in common – they liked the same books, the same television shows, the same music. They had both joined the Bible Study Group. They volunteered for the school paper but were both rejected because they weren't any spots open for freshmen. Eddie had even tried convincing Frankie to try out for the track team with him, but Frankie laughed and said he was no good at sports, even if it was just running. Still, Frankie came along and watched Eddie try-out and make it on the team.

Frankie found it amazing how he was able to open up to Eddie, to talk so long with him, so easily. Not that they ever talked about anything deep or personal, but still, Frankie had never had a real friend like him. He found it so simple to be himself around Eddie, to laugh and play like he couldn't anywhere else.

At his new home things were different. There he hardly dared say anything, and thankfully nobody hardly ever asked to hear him. He thought he preferred it that way, really, to be almost totally ignored by his cousins and Aunt and Uncle. At least like that he didn't always feel self-conscious and out of place. He always tried to remind himself to be grateful for their generosity.

"Come on Frankie, can't you keep up?" called Eddie, craning his neck around as he continued to peddle forward.

"You don't have to wait for me, it's fine," said Frankie. "Just go on ahead. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Oh come on. Here, I rid until now, you can ride the rest of the way." Eddie jumped off the bike and held it, waiting for Frankie.

"No, no," said Frankie, trying to hide his embarrassment behind a nervous chuckle. "Just go ahead."

"Come on man, don't make me feel guilty."

"I can't."

"What's the big deal, jeez."

"No, I mean I literally can't. I never learned to ride a bike."

Eddie snorted, but then seeing the look on Frankie's face realized he was serious. "How does a kid not learn to ride a bike?"

"I just never had a bike when I was growing up, okay?" he said, turning his head away.

"Well, then," said Eddie, with a voice clearly looking forward to a challenge. "Now's as good time to learn."

"What," said Frankie, laughing and burying his face in his hands. "What if anyone saw? A thirteen-year-old learning to ride a bike, it's ridiculous."

"Nobody's here and nobody care even if they were. Just try getting on."

Frankie waited for a car that was coming down the road to pass them. He looked at the bike that Eddie was holding steady by the handlebars. Slowly he got on, tried keeping his feet on the pedals while holding the bars, but felt like he might tip over any minute. Eddie was still holding the bike from the centre of the bars.

"Try pedaling. Come on." Frankie moved his feet, but the wobbling made him so scared he closed his eyes. He felt the bike moving forward, and suddenly he knew Eddie had let go because he and the bike toppled to the ground. He and Eddie both laughed and Frankie insisted he wouldn't be able to learn.

"Let's go to the park, I'm sure if you give me an hour you'll get the hang of it."

Frankie really did want to, despite for his nervousness, but he remembered he had to be home before his Aunt and Uncle got back from work. Eddie told him then to meet him at the park on Saturday and he would teach him then. It was the first time anyone had asked him to go anywhere besides school since he started at Mansfield Academy.

Nobody was home when Frankie arrived. His Aunt and Uncle didn't finish work until after five, and Maria and Julia had said they would be going to a friend's house to hang out. Frankie got the vacuum out of the closet and started cleaning. His Aunt Lindsey always insisted the house be vacuumed every day before she got home. This surprised him, because his mother only vacuumed once a week. Aunt Lindsey had said that people who had nice houses actually care about keeping it tidy.

When his Aunt did get home she expected him to be in his room doing homework. If she saw him outside his room, she almost always took the time to remind him she had brought him to her house to study and not to play. Occasionally, if he could convince her he had really finished all his homework, he was allowed to watch TV along with his cousins.

His Uncle Thomas usually only said, "How was your day?" and Frankie noticed his eyes would glaze over if he answered with more than one sentence.

Frankie waited until everybody was almost done dinner than night before he got the courage to speak up, and ask his Aunt for permission to go to the park that Saturday. He thought he saw her roll her eyes, but maybe, he told himself, he was imagining that.

"Well, I don't know how you expect to get good grades if you're going to start spending all your time running around outside. Did you think when you came here you were coming for a fantasy vacation?"

"Oh come on," said Uncle Thomas, surprising Frankie. "The kid only wants to go outside for a bit to play. He spends more time in his room than any kid I've ever seen."

"And," said Aunt Lindsey, undeterred, "It's almost winter. Who goes outside to play at this time of year. He'll get sick."

"It's not even November yet, and he can wear a jacket," said Uncle Thomas. "A young man like your nephew needs to spend time playing outside with boys his own age."

Aunt Lindsey didn't look like she agreed, but she didn't push the conversation further. "Well, if you do go, you should take your cousins along with you, so they don't feel left out."

"Do they have to?" The words slipped out of his mouth and he was embarrassed he said it right away. He didn't mean to be rude, but he didn't want them to know he was learning to ride a bike. Aunt Lindsey gave him a stern glare.

"Uh oh, Frankie doesn't want us to come along," said Maria. "I bet it's because he doesn't want us to find out he has a girlfriend. Right Frankie, are you going on a date?" Maria and Julia both giggled until their mother told them to stop it.

"Anyway," said Julia, "We promised Amanda we would go to her house that day, so we can't go with him."

When Saturday came Frankie did go and had more fun than he could remember ever having. Within in an hour he had almost mastered the bicycle, and was soon enjoying just circling around the neighborhood with Eddie. After a while of this, Eddie told him that he was going to play football with some of his friends and asked Frankie if he wanted to come along. Frankie, whose only major experience with sports was in gym class, where he almost always made a fool of himself, politely declined saying that he promised to be home before three.

After that Eddie and Frankie took turns riding Eddie's bike every day after school until the first snow started to fall.

Winter passed by uneventfully until his Christmas break, when he was allowed to go back home and visit his family. He was most happy to see his older sister again. Still, he found when he came back home at the beginning of January, that he finally was starting to belong at Mansfield Academy.

Frankie got great marks on his midterm report card, so much so that Aunt Lindsey's constant reminding him to study was starting to seem ridiculous.

One Saturday afternoon in late March, Frankie was sitting in the kitchen reading a novel. He liked it better here at this time of day than his own room because it had more sunlight. His chores were finished and Aunt Lindsey, sitting in the living room watching television, couldn't find anything to complain about. Uncle Thomas, who had been in his office upstairs doing work, came down to the kitchen to get coffee.

"Is that for school, Frankie?" Frankie shook his head and mumbled that he just liked the story. "It's such a nice day outside. Why don't you go out and see your friend, what was his name?"

"Eddie? Oh, I can't. He and some of his friends went out to see a movie on their bikes. I wouldn't have been able to go along." At just that moment, Julia and Maria, who had been watching TV in their own room, came running down the stairs.

"That's right, you don't have a bike do you?" Aunt Lindsey, who could see the kitchen from the living room, turned down the volume to listen to what they were saying. "We should do something about that."

"He can ride one of his cousin's bikes, if he really wants," called Aunt Lindsey. Julia and Maria, who had been rummaging through the closet looking for the new shoes they had got for their birthday, had heard this.

"Um, hello Mom, Frankie can't ride our bikes, they're both pink," said Julia. Maria started giggling.

"No, that won't do," said Uncle Thomas.

"Well, if he doesn't want to ride their bikes, he's not going to ride at all, is he?" said Aunt Lindsey.

Frankie didn't say anything. He hated so much when he was the subject of conversation in the house and didn't want to keep it going.

In April, Frankie got a surprise he never expected. It was his fourteenth birthday, but since nobody in the house had mentioned it in the weeks leading up, Frankie didn't mention it either. So when he woke up that morning, he was stunned to come downstairs and seeing a blue mountain bike sitting at the foot of the stairs, the whole Bertram family standing there. "Happy Birthday," said Uncle Thomas. Julia and Maria were smiling. Aunt Lindsey seemed rather eager to get away.

Frankie must have repeated "thank you" at least two dozen times, still not believing they had got him a present. He awkwardly hugged his Uncle, who let go of the hug sooner than Frankie expected, and his Aunt, who didn't even hug him back but just patted his head. Uncle Thomas told him he could go out and see his friend Eddie if he wanted, he shouldn't have to do work on his birthday.

Frankie rode joyously to Eddie's house, so eager to show him the new present that promised so much more time they could spend together having fun. He was a little let down though, when Eddie, though happy for his friend about the bike, was confused on why Frankie wasn't having a party or going out or even cake on his birthday.

Soon June rolled around and his first semester at Mansfield Academy was finished. Frankie had A's in all his subjects, and was anxious to go home for the summer. The day before the last day of classes however, his mother called his Aunt and asked if Frankie could stay the rest of the summer with them. Frankie was sure his Aunt wouldn't accept that, but she did.

"If your mother doesn't want you, at least somebody does. Remember that," Aunt Lindsey said to him.

Now that school was out, it was harder Aunt Lindsey kept finding more and more chores around the house and in the yard, to "keep him occupied". Frankie never complained that he had to take on all these responsibilities while his cousins did no chores at all. And he had a feeling that Aunt Lindsey really wanted to hear him complain about it. But as long as he finished everything she told him, she would let him go out after.

Now that he had a bike Frankie felt like he was free to explore the whole world. He and Eddie would ride to the pool, to the mall, to the library, but mostly just riding aimlessly through town and exploring the park trails.

Eddie was also keeping busy that summer. He had got a summer job delivering newspapers in the morning. This always seemed funny to Frankie – he didn't think kids who went to Mansfield Academy needed to take a paper route. Eddie said that he really wanted to buy a PlayStation and his parents thought it would help build character if he earned it himself.

One hot day in the middle of July, Frankie and Eddie were riding by a discount department store. Eddie said he wanted to go inside to show him the game he was going to buy once he got his paycheque next week. Frankie realized he forgot his bike chain, but Eddie said it would only take a minute.

Frankie was anxious to get back to their bikes, and after browsing through the video game section of the store, he rushed Eddie out of the store. It almost didn't surprise him when he saw Eddie's bike still standing by the entrance, and his own nowhere to be seen.

"Whoever took it can't have gone far, I'll find it," said Eddie. Eddie circled around the neighborhood, going further and further, for more than half an hour, determined to find the thief. But it was useless. Wherever his bike ended up, it was nowhere in sight.

When Eddie got back he saw Frankie slunk back on a bench still by the store entrance, just staring blankly ahead of him, a dead look to his eyes. "They'll never buy me another one," was all he said.

The dread of telling his Uncle and Aunt that the bike they got him was stolen was almost greater than the loss he felt. His Uncle just shook his head and said it was very irresponsible for him to leave his bike unattended, and his Aunt said if he didn't value his presents he wouldn't receive any more. Even when he asked her, a few days later, if he could get a job like Eddie and buy his own bike, she said no. "You have enough work to do here at home."

He didn't go out to see Eddie for the rest of the week. He didn't feel brave enough to ask permission to go outside after he lost the only present his Uncle and Aunt had ever given him. He was sure they would make some snide comment about how careless and undeserving he was. And he just didn't have the energy to go out. He felt so gloomy and upset at his own stupidity. He looked back at the fun he had had over the last few months as a thing of the past, too good to last forever.

Then on a Friday afternoon while Frankie was mowing the backyard, Uncle Thomas appeared at the backdoor.

"You can leave that for a moment. There's someone at the front here to see you."

Curious at who could be visiting him, he came up front and saw Eddie at the door with his bike. "Oh, hey Eddie, what are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to drop something off for you," he said. "Here." He pointed at his bike.

"What?" said Frankie. "That's your bike."

"Well, you know I actually just bought a new one for myself, so I figured you could have this one."

"But, but this bike is already brand new, why would you get a new one?"

"I just used the money I was saving up from my paper route."

"That was for your game!"

"Don't even, okay. It's my fault your old one got stolen. It's the least I could do."

Frankie just kept staring in amazement and Eddie and the bike. He didn't even realize that Aunt Lindsey and his cousins had gathered in the doorway behind him.

"Well Frankie, I think you are a very fortunate young man to have such a nice friend," said Uncle Thomas.

"Yes, how thoughtful of him," said Aunt Lindsey, not even trying to hide her bitterness.

Everyone seemed to be waiting to hear Frankie speak. He stammered over a few opening words, and finally could just manage, "You're the best friend in the world."


	3. Chapter 3

A new change came about that same summer – Frankie started going to church. Back home his mother had occasionally taken him and his siblings to church, and he had always enjoyed the experience. The Bertrams never went to church, which Frankie found odd since they sent their children to a Christian school. Frankie knew that Eddie and his family went every Sunday, so sometime towards the end of summer Frankie told him how much he would like to attend service, and from then on Eddie convinced his family to take Frankie along with them. Frankie didn't even feel embarrassed that he didn't have any formal clothes to bring. The chance to spend time each week meditating on the mysteries of a higher power made life with the Bertrams much easier to bear.

And from there two years passed as uneventfully as the life of a teenager can. Frankie Price grew outwardly but inwardly he remained much the same boy he had been when he had first arrived in town. Still reluctant to talk too much, still shying away from attention, always thinking of others first, and always putting himself down.

Still, he was content with his place in life. Nothing much had changed at home except that his cousins now looked like women much older than him. He got to the chance to see him own family a couple of times over these years, never for as long as he could have hoped for, but never separated for as long as he had been that freshman year.

And he and Eddie were inseparable friends. Whenever you saw one at Mansfield Academy you were sure to see each other. It was routine for them by this point. They were each the best friend the other could hope for. Eddie, always able to make Frankie smile no matter how morose he got. And Frankie, the forever helpful friend, always there to offer whatever he could, always so appreciative for any attention. These days they stayed out a bit later, hang out with a few more people (though Frankie hardly said a word at these times). They went out for coffee occasionally, and in the summer of his 17th birthday Eddie got his own car, meaning the two best friends could now start to explore life even outside what their town had to offer.

It was that same summer that his cousins Julia and Maria started going to church along with Frankie. Maria had a crush on a guy from the school football team, and she knew he was really religious. She wanted him to think she was too, so she and Julia (who always tended to do whatever Maria did) both started attending service. Frankie was glad they managed not to fall asleep, but other than that they might as well could have been for all they took away from it at the end.

One day in July the Pastor was going on longer than usual, and even Frankie's mind was starting to wander. The Pastor said something about conquering fears, and he started thinking of the amusement park he and Eddie were planning on going to in a few weeks. It was a popular place about two hours out of town, full of monstrous roller coasters and all sorts of speeding rides. They'd gone last year with Eddie's parents, and then Frankie had chickened out of going on any of the scary rides. He was thinking this year he would definitely force himself to go on all of them.

"We look forward to seeing all the young people out at our Teen Retreat next month. And now I have a special announcement," said Pastor Norris, and Frankie's attention snapped back to the pulpit. "I have the pleasure of introducing our new Youth Minister, Pastor Grant Crawford."

A stylish young man of around 25 stepped up to take Pastor Norris's place. "Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here and I look forward to getting to know everyone in the community. I'd also like to take this moment to introduce my sisters, who along with me have just moved to town. Hannah, Mandy, could you stand up for a moment?"

Two teenage girls, nearly identical, stood up in the front pew. Both had flowing hair, one blonde, the other red. They looked around awkwardly and quickly sat back down. Frankie was surprised one of them was wearing such a low-cut blouse at church. Pastor Grant then went on for a few minutes introducing himself, and then after a final blessing service was dismissed.

As always, Maria made everyone else wait by the door so she could get in a word with her football stud, Ross Werth. As he was passing by, he hollered out, "Hey, there's my best buddy!" He punched Frankie in the shoulder playfully. Frankie tried hard not to show how painful that had been. "You still gonna tutor me in math this year right? Ya know I can't be on the team if I don't got at least a C average." Frankie was about to answer, when Ross turned his attention to Maria. Julia stood right behind her sister, twirling her hair, not missing a word.

"Look, the new Pastor's sisters are heading over here," Eddie whispered to Frankie. "We should introduce ourselves."

Frankie turned and noticed them heading down the main aisle chatting with a guy he went to school with, Tad Yates. The blonde in the low-cut blouse was laughing at something he had said.

"Hey there ladies," said Eddie with a big smile, showing off his perfect white teeth. "I'd like to welcome you to town. I'm Eddie Thornton."

The girl who had been laughing was caught by Eddie's blue eyes, staring at them for a moment and then returning his smile with one just as dazzling. "I'm Mandy. Nice to meet you too." She shook Eddie's outstretched hand for a little longer than seemed normal. "Oh, and this is my sister Hannah."

Unlike the overly sweet and friendly look Mandy was giving off, her red-haired sister seemed more impenetrable – a collected but not exactly chilly. "Pleasure," she said, oozing confidence. A coy smirk flashed on her face, and suddenly she had passed from Eddie to Ross.

"Hi," said Maria, noticing the movement into her territory. "Hannah was it? And Mandy? I'm Maria, it's nice to meet..."

"And I'm Julia," she said, waving from behind her sister.

"Maria, Julia," said Hannah slowly. "I'll try to keep those names in order. Oh, and you are?" she breathed, looking at Ross.

"That's Ross," said Maria, before he could answer. "My boyfriend."

"I am?" said Ross.

"Aren't you?"

"Huh, yeah, I guess I am your boyfriend, aren't I?"

"Oh, so many friendly new people around here," said Hannah, as she pushed her hair back from her face.

"So, where are you two going to school in September?" Mandy answered they were enrolling at Mansfield Academy, her eyes still not moving away from Eddie. "Great, that's where we all go."

"Really, what year are you in? I'm a junior."

"I'm a senior."

"Darn, my lucky sister. She's a senior too, so she'll probably get to see you all the time." Eddie chuckled, and Frankie thought he sounded pretty stupid. But soon everybody had to be heading there separate ways, and Mandy called out they had to hang out some time.

"They were nice, huh," said Eddie to Frankie, as they walked towards his parent's car.

"Yeah, maybe someday I'll get to talk them," said Frankie. Eddie was nodded his head towards the Crawford sisters as they entered their brother's car.

A few days later Frankie was washing his Aunt Lindsey's car in the driveway when Maria called him from the front door. "Hey, Eddie just sent me a text," she called out. Frankie didn't have his own cellphone, so once in a while Eddie would use his one of his cousins if he wanted to pass along a message. "He says that new Pastor's sister wants to grab a coffee and invited us along."

Frankie was used to going to the local coffee shop in torn jeans and an old t-shirt, so he didn't bother to change before joining his cousins on the walk over. He learned that Mandy had searched for Eddie on Facebook on Sunday night and they had been chatting online since then. It was Eddie's idea to invite the others along.

When they arrived he saw the group at a large table in a back corner. Eddie and Mandy were sitting across from each other, both sipping on a latte. Beside Mandy was her sister and Tad Yates, who had his arm around Hannah's shoulder, while Hannah seemed to be saying something to Ross Werth, who was sitting across from her.

The Crawford sisters greeted Julia and Maria, and then Mandy asked who their friend was. "This is our cousin Frankie. You met on Sunday, didn't you?"

"No, I must have missed you. Well nice to see you," answered Mandy, who went back to the conversation she was having with Eddie. "So my mom and her new husband decided they wanted to spend a year together in Antigua, which we totally did not want to join in on, and that's how we ended up living with Grant."

"Oh, that must be tough, being so far away from your mom."

"Oh please, it's such a relief," said Mandy. "Grant doesn't even care what we do. We can go out whenever we want, wear whatever we want, invite anyone we want over. He's hardly ever at home anyway."

"Really, I would have thought a Youth Pastor would be a bit more…" Eddie must have decided not to finish his sentence.

"Does anyone have a cigarette," said Mandy suddenly. When she just saw shaking heads around her she said, "Guess I'm the only smoker here. Awkward." Everyone at the table laughed. Even Frankie tried to join in even though he didn't see what was so funny.

They all sat there for nearly three-quarters of an hour. Frankie mostly just drank his coffee silently and tried to enjoy whatever joke he overheard. The topic had gone to what there was to do in the area. Mandy and Hannah both thought it was pretty boring.

"Well, there is Adventure Land, but that's two hours away," said Julia. "It's pretty awesome place though."

"We should go sometime," said Maria. Although she was cautious of how Hannah was acting, she was genuinely starting to like Mandy.

"I was planning on going there the week after next," said Eddie. "Since you guys don't have a car, why don't you come along."

"That's would be awesome, but only if we all go," said Mandy. "Julia and Maria too, right?"

Frankie's cousins nodded excitedly, and everyone seemed to be happy with the plan. Tad and Ross both said they had other plans. "Hold up," said Eddie. "So, me, Frankie, Julia, Maria, Hannah, and Mandy. Six people. My car only holds five."

Nobody spoke. Everybody was waiting for somebody to suggest anything. "Well," said Eddie, after a long pause. "Frankie, I know you really hated it the last time we went. You don't even like roller coasters. You wouldn't mind not going, right bud?"

Frankie didn't feel like he could say that he did in fact mind. Not with everyone watching him. So he tried to casually brush it aside, saying he would find something else to do that day.

After about another half hour of just hanging out, the new friends decided they were ready to head home. Before he started walking back, Eddie pulled Frankie aside. "You really aren't mad about it, right? I just thought you were the one who would be least upset about not getting to go."

"Yeah, of course, I understand," said Frankie, finding it hard to keep eye contact.

"So what do you think of her? Mandy, I mean? She's pretty good looking don't you think?"

"Yeah, I mean, she's cute and everything," said Frankie, who started turning around and walking away.

"Do you think she likes me?"

"I don't know – why are you asking me," said Frankie, a hint of irritation starting to become evident. "I don't – I mean. I guess she's not really the type of girl I would picture you with is all."


End file.
